


The Light of All Lights

by blacktopanga



Category: Dracula - Bram Stoker, The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: BAMF Bonnie Bennett, Dracula Influence/References, Druids, F/F, F/M, Klaus Mikaelson Has A Heart, Romance, Slow Burn, Vampires, Witches, castle - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:34:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26517526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blacktopanga/pseuds/blacktopanga
Summary: After healing his sister with herbal magic, recluse Klaus Mikaelson asks Bonnie to live with him as his own personal healer and in return he will protect her family. Bonnie reluctantly agrees for her family but the only thing she knows about Klaus and his family are the horrible stories she’s been told. What she finds out is that they are more alike than she thinks.Slow burn historical Dracula type AU w/ Klonnie :)
Relationships: Bonnie Bennett/Klaus Mikaelson, Elijah Mikaelson/Abby Bennett Wilson
Comments: 16
Kudos: 46





	1. Please And Thank you

**Author's Note:**

> it's dracula au only in terms of the castle and the recluse type beat. wrote this in a fever dream, hope u like it. :)

No one knows for sure. No one knows for sure exactly where the Mikaelson’s came from. Some say that the devil kicked them out of hell. Others say that they opened up the gates of hell themselves, and simply walked out. Others say they come from Transylvania.

But no one knows for sure. 

The only thing everyone is sure of is that they are terrible, horrific people and are greatly feared. They are the monsters hiding in your closet, they are the shadows that lurk in the dark. When a child goes missing, it is their fault. When a young woman dies, everyone knows they must have had something to do with it. If your crops don’t grow, they must have cursed your family. 

No one knows what they are, only that they are not human and that they are not to be messed with. 

Which has never been a problem for Bonnie. Until today. 

Bonnie had no last name. Neither did her mother. Or her grandmother. Bonnie’s family consisted of the three women, living together with no men in their tiny house. And that was how they liked it.

“Men,” Her grandmother, Sheila spat, “Are not necessary to live a full life. Remember that, my Bonnie.” These are lessons her grandmother would tell her as she braided her thick, sandy brown hair into plaits that reached down her back. Bonnie would listen and listen well. But Bonnie’s mother? Not so much. Bonnie’s mother, Abigail (affectionately called Abbey) was an adventurous woman. She would often go into town, and come back with a man and a cow. Now of course. they needed the cow to eat, but the men always wore out their welcome. And Abbey would not hesitate to let them know. Sheila chastised her daughter for being too free-willing. Bonnie liked the men her mother brought along. They would bring her gifts or tell her she was pretty, two things young girls liked. 

“You don’t need a man to tell you you’re beautiful, dear Bonnie.” Her grandmother would say. 

“But it feels quite good when they do, right Bon-bon!” Her mother would say. 

Bonnie smiled and laughed and agreed with both. She thought about the type of man she’d end up with. Would he be kind? Would he be tall? Would he be handsome? These are things that Bonnie thought about and talked about with her mother. 

“No, Bon, the most important thing is how big is his-” 

“Abigail!” 

“I was going to say horse! How big is his horse! Goodness, mother, what do you think of me?” 

Bonnie giggled as her mother adorned her braids with flowers and vines. Despite Abbey’s wild nature and Sheila’s calamity and Bonnie’s curiosity, the three women lived together in peace, while stories about them outlived their reputations. They lived away from the villages, deeper into the woods in solitude. And people whispered things about them when they rode into town. 

“Devil-worshippers.”

“Harlots.”

“Witch.”

Bonnie knew they were outcasts from a young age. And she strangely preferred it that way. It was unheard of. Woman living alone, unattended by a man. A man to keep them safe. As if these women needed help. They had all of the help they needed in their ancestors. They practised ancestral magic, using nature and the blood of their ancestors to help keep them safe, healthy, and uninterrupted with their life. The three women were hissed at and even sometimes harassed as they went into town. But whenever someone needs an aliment cooked up or help with a problem that’s a little too much for them... Every villager knew who to go to. 

This is how their lives had always been. To be mocked and ridiculed in public but praised and sought after when problems arised. Sheila had worked hard to maintain this way of peaceful living. She was fine with the ridicule as long as they were safe,while Abbey only wanted people to accept her.

Bonnie simply didn’t care what people thought of her or her family. She simply wanted people to leave her family alone so they could ive out their days peacefully.

Bonnie loved her mother and grandmother and loved the life they lived in the bungalow in the woods. She wouldn’t have asked for a better life to live. She thanked her ancestors everyday for blessing her so that she was filled with a life of love and light. 

Bonnie woke up feeling like the day should’ve been a normal day, but she couldn’t shake an odd feeling like something was going to happen. She pushed those feelings aside and she fed the chickens and the horses and other animals they had. She tended to her garden and she was able to bathe before her grandmother began cooking breakfast. She hoped she would feel better once she bathed, but the feeling of darkness rumbled over her like a rain cloud. 

“There is my beautiful granddaughter,” Sheila called out as Bonnie sauntered into their brick home, a basket of green leafy vegetables in her arms. She smiled at her grandmother and set the basket on their table. She practically skipped over to her grandmother and placed a kiss to her cheek and sneaked a look at the bubbling brown broth in the large black cauldron over the fire. The smell hit her instantly, the spices feeling her with warmth. 

“Mm, what is that? It smells delicious.” Bonnie marveled, while filling a black kettle with water and placing it on a hook above the roaring fire. Sheila simply smiles coyly and shrugs her broad shoulders. 

“Just a little broth my mother taught me to make. We’re having beef and leek stew.” She announced, as if it was no big deal. Bonnie’s head whipped to look at her grandmother, who was standing much too close to the fire to stir the giant cauldron. 

“Grams! That’s my favorite soup! What’s the occasion?” Bonnie squealed, rising from her seat to join her grandmother at the cauldron once again. The older woman shrugged as Bonnie rested her chin on her shoulder. 

“I dunno. I woke up feeling… strange. Leeks are a grounding root, I figured I’d better make some soup to shake off the feeling.” Sheila said, trying to shake off the hesitation in her voice. 

Bonnie stiffened at her grandmother’s words. Whenever her grandmother had a feeling, something usually happened. The last time her grandmother had a feeling, Pianna, their favorite horse, passed away. Bonnie’s heart lurched at the memory. It had to be something if Bonnie was feeling something too. Instead of letting the feeling of demise wash over her, Bonnie simply smiled and patted her grandmother’s arm. 

“Everything will be alright, Grams.” Bonnie assured, with a sure nod. Sheila gave her a small smile and nodded and continued to stir. As much as she wanted to believe her granddaughter, the feeling remained, bubbling to the top of her mind like the stew she absentmindedly stirred. 

“Ugh, what is that horrid smell?” came the groggy voice of Abbey as she entered the main room. Bonnie giggled and Sheila quirked her lips to the side. Abbey’s wavy hair was in a wild mess above her head, and she wore only her under garments. She looked as if she’d been rolling around in a haystack. And for her, that wasn’t a crazy thing to assume happened. Bonnie pulled out a chair for her mother to sit and poured her cup of tea. 

“It’s beef and leek soup!” Bonnie declared. Abbey groaned. 

“Who died?” responded Abbey, rubbing her eyes and then taking a grateful sip of tea. Sheila whirled around from stirring her stew. 

“No one died, Abigail. I just have… a feeling.” Sheila shrugged and made her way over to the table to sit with her offspring. Bonnie poured her grandmother a cup of tea as well, and then poured herself one. Abbey snorted into her cup.

“Well, we all know what happens when you have those. Last time--”

“Was unfortunate.” Bonnie cut off her mother’s gloomy train before it got to its destination. “But all that matters is that anything that happens, we will be alright. Alright?” Bonnie implored, looking from her mother to her grandmother. Bonnie was the best mediator between the two. She’d been doing it ever since she was a child, unknowingly. She always knew exactly what to say to get both parties back on the same track. Bonnie was wise for her years, her grandmother always said that. She had the calamity of her grandmother. But the spunk of her mother. The three women shared a heartfelt smile and Grams reached out her bony fingers to grab onto her kin’s hands. 

“Alright.” Grams affirms. Abbey nods briefly and then rolls her eyes. 

“Alright, alright. Enough with the love fest before noon!” Abbey declares, rising from her seat. Bonnie laughs at her mother while Sheila stifles a chuckle before returning to her soup. 

~

Klaus Mikaelson was born to be feared. Born as a bastard from a powerful woman married to a cowardly man, he spent his first breaths being hated and feared. The man he came to know as his Father was a cruel man, intent on making his mother pay for her mistake by tormenting him. The degradation and outcasting would be enough to make any child or man go insane, but for Klaus? It fed him. With each cruel insult, each punch, each kick, he’d take that pain, take that feeling and harbor it somewhere deep until it festered in his soul, rotting him from the inside out. 

It was because of this rotten core of his, that Klaus was able to do the terrible, horrific deeds his reputation conveyed. And the more awful things he did, the more he became feared. And this, this fear gave him power. It made people cower at the thought of him. Made people look over the shoulder in a dark alley at night. He was that fear. And he loved it. He basked in it. He could sit in his castle, in the walls he procured for him and his sibling himself and be at ease that no one would dare mess with him.

Or so he thought. 

The only part of Niklaus Mikaelson not completely rotted out, was the love for his siblings and mother. This love was enough to fuel his rotten part, meaning he’d kill for his siblings. He _had_ killed for his siblings. He’d do anything for them. Take their place in death, kill a million monsters, but it wasn’t as easy as that as he stared down into the face of his sister, contorted in pain. The black veins under skin, appeared in lines on her face and body with each convulsing jolt. 

She’d been poisoned with the herbs from a White Oak tree and was slowly dying. The messenger who’d delivered the tea to her had already been taken care of. But there was nothing Klaus could do, or anything he knew of to do to help his sister. 

Elijah entered at the doorway. Klaus rested a damp towel on his sister’s forehead as if it would do any good. He stood from her bedside and stalked out of the room, closing the door and facing Elijah. 

“Well?” Klaus demanded, lips pursed, waiting for his brother to deliver any sliver of good news. Anything that would help their sister. Elijah nodded. 

“I’ve sent word to Bastianna. Her daughter has informed me that she is in Valgard. It would take her over a fortnight to get here-”

“We don’t have a fortnight, Elijah!” Klaus hollered through gritted teeth. Elijah nodded. He knew that. He knew that they didn’t have long before the poison completely flooded her body. They had a day, maybe. 

“I know that, Niklaus. There are healers down at the village-”

“You’d trust our dear sister’s life in the hands of simple village healers?” Klaus spat, turning away from his brother in contempt. Elijah sighed. 

“I’d trust druid witches who don’t yet know their power. They use ancestral magic. You and I both know how powerful the ancestors of druids and witches can be.” Elijah edged. Klaus ears perked at this. Their mother was a witch from ancestral magic. It was how she was able to create their immortality spell. Klaus knew of the druids Elijah spoke of and privately chastised himself for not thinking of them sooner. The three beautiful women who lived together outside of the village, outcast because of their “power.” Klaus folded his arms and nodded at his brother. 

“Fine. Bring them to me.” 

~

Bonnie couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to happen. It gnawed at her spirit as if nudging her to prepare. Even as she ate her second bowl of leek soup, she could not find grounding. She cast a glance at her grandmother, who was repairing a patch in a dress. Bonnie knew her grandmother sensed something, and maybe even her mother, who was outside trying to make something grow. When she hadn’t grown anything in years. 

Abbey sat outside in the garden, cultivating the patch of gardenias she’d been trying to grow for 2 years. It was no secret that Abbey was not as connected to nature as she’d once been. She was out of her prime, and her link to her magic was slowly beginning to fade away. Her mother did always say, “If you don’t use your gifts, they’ll take them away,” She didn’t realize she meant  _literally_. But she had apparently as she could barely cultivate a patch of flowers because of her neglect. 

Abbey simply attributed her weakened link to age. Even though her mother was still a powerful with. But even with all the favor from their ancestors, Sheila’s powers also diminished in power as she got older. 

But Bonnie. Her daughter, Bonnie, was like a spring chicken. Her magic bubbled inside of her, brewing under skin just waiting to be released. Everytime she touched her young daughter she felt it. And Abbey knew if she could feel it, that Sheila felt it. 

And that they both feared what would come of it. 

In the meantime, Abbey was thinking of what she could do to save her gardenias when a man appeared in front of her as if out of thin air. He was tall and paler than any other other person she’d seen with short dark cropped hair. The wind wafted behind him and she caught a whiff of his scent. He smelled like decaying plants. This signified to Abbey that this man was undead. Abbey stood and squared her shoulders. 

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” She demanded, her magic crackling like electricity at her side. It was merely a parlor trick, but it looked menacing enough. 

Elijah had spotted the woman from far back and he knew she was beautiful before seeing her up close. Now that he was closer to her, he could see she was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever laid eyes on. 

And Elijah had seen a lot of women. 

He quickly casted aside his thoughts of the beautiful woman as she interrogated him. In truth, he’d barely heard a word she said. He was mesmerized by her thin silk gown, that revealed too much of her shoulders and was slightly transparent. If he had breath, she’d have taken it away. 

He stepped forward and Abbey took a calculating step back, but held her ground with her stare. 

“My name is Elijah Mikaelson. I’m here to see the healers.” He announced in a loud enough voice to alert Sheila and Bonnie inside the house. Bonnie stiffened at the booming voice coming from outside of their house. Sheila downright froze at the voice. Bonnie stood and stumbled out of the house to see a man in front of her mother. Bonnie moved to stand beside her mother, cautiously. 

“Mom? What’s going on? Who is this?” Bonnie whispered to her mother, who stood confidently in front of the pale man. Abbey clicked her tongue. 

“This is Elijah Mikaelson. He says he needs to see a healer,” Abbey relayed to Bonnie, as Bonnie shifted awkwardly in front of the man. Abbey folded her arms. 

“But I don’t think there is anything we can do for… _his kind_ .” Abbey spat, with a cold glare in the older Mikaelson’s direction. Bonnie looked over at the tall, pale man and wondered what her mother meant until the wind carried his scent in her direction. She nearly scrunched her nose at the smell. It was tart and nose-tickling like when she’d planted her potatoes in the wrong place and they rotted inside out. Bonnie looked at the man with concerned eyes until it finally clicked in her mind. This man wasn’t a man at all.

He was dead.

Well, undead. 

Bonnie knew there were undead beings who walked the Earth but thankfully to her environment and her loving family, she’d never had to encounter them. People came to them from all over, searching for herbs to protect their children and their towns from these undead creatures. Bonnie and her family knew how to keep these beasts away, and yet this… thing has waltzed right into the garden, asking for their help. Bonnie stood shoulder to shoulder with her mother in her confident stance, and squared her shoulders. Bonnie hated being used by the villagers and this pale man was no different to her. 

Usually, Elijah Mikaelson would be more pleasant and polite, or attempt to even charm these young beautiful women into helping him, but time was of the essence. His dear sister was dying and the more time he wasted the more the threat grew over her life. Elijah stepped forward, pushing a hand out of his pocket. 

“In other circumstances, I would ask politely for your help. But I need your best healer to come with me. And quite frankly I’m not asking.” He commanded, his thin lips in a tight line. His expression was serious and solemn, like he’d rather be doing something else but here he is instead talking with beautiful women.

Abbey had let out a breathless laugh. Bonnie had lived to see the day a man commanded her mother. And she knew it would not end well. Abbey folded her arms across her chest and stepped toward the man, unafraid. 

“Or _what_ ?” Abbey countered, poking her neck out to make her point. Elijah enclosed the space between them. 

“Miss… you’ve such a beautiful neck. And I’m quite _thirsty,_ ” He informed, taking in her scent. Black veins had slithered underneath his eyes, causing Abbey to step back and hold a hand to her neck as if to protect it from this predator. Bonnie’s heart raced and she grabbed her mother’s hand and stepped in front of her. 

“Leave us alone!” Bonnie demanded, sticking her chest out. Elijah cocked his head as he looked down at the tiny, green-eyed girl demanding things of him--the original vampire. It would be comical if the look in her eyes weren’t so deadly serious. But Elijah didn’t have time to explain to her his importance. He cleared his throat, and put a hand to his head. 

“I do not wish to repeat myself.” He warned. Bonnie felt her magic sizzle under her skin. She’d never tell anyone, but she’d been itching for a fight. Itching for a reason to prove herself to her family and ancestors. Bonnie remained squared to Elijah, who sighed as if he were exhausted. 

At this moment, Sheila stalked out of the house, with a leather bag prepared and slung low on her lip. Her crinkled eyes took in the sight of the vampire standing in her garden. He looked just as his brother had, all those years ago when they came to their home to summon her grandmother. Sheila knew these undead kind were unforgiving. The last time an undead being took her family, her grandmother, it was the last time she’d seen her alive. But Sheila was young then. She did not have the power or knowledge she possessed then. She always suspected they would need something else. They were greedy beings, siphoning their magic for their own sinister uses. She wouldn’t allow the pain of her grandmother’s death to happen again. Sheila stepped forward as her kin watched her. 

“I will help you. But my help comes at a price.” Sheila warned. Elijah looked over Abbey’s head at the older woman behind her. The woman seems familiar, but it’s hard to find things new to an undead being who’s lived for years. He nods briefly at her. Finally, a woman with some sense. 

“If you cure my sister, you may have whatever you desire.” He promises. Sheila sucks in a breath.

“What’s wrong with her?” The older woman asks. 

“She’s been poisoned.” Elijah says. He grunts the last words. “White Oak.” 

Abbey’s head whirls around to meet her mother’s eyes. She knows the significance of White Oak poisoning. It is the only thing that can kill an original vampire. And it’s nearly impossible to get out of the system once it has been set. Sheila has realized this too and can only nod her head out of fear her voice will tremble if she were to speak. She pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, and as she walked toward the man, Abbey blocked her path. 

“Mother! You cannot possibly be thinking of going with this… man!” Abbey says, lowly. Sheila holds a hand to her daughter’s face. 

“Everything will be alright, my Abbey. Take care of Bonnie while I’m gone.” Sheila cooed. But Abbey isn’t convinced that sending her fragile mother to be whisked away to a castle is an “alright” thing to do. But Abbey knows there is nothing to she can do once her mother;s mind is set. Tears prickle in her eyes, but stop shirt once Bonnie brushes past them both and storms away into the house. Abbey watches her in awe. Is she the only sane one here, for once? 

“Bonnie!” Abbey hollers, appalled at her daughter for fleeing the scene, while her mother is being marched away to certain death. Sheila marches toward Elijah, who awaits with his hand outstretched. Just as Sheila is about to board his carriage, Bonnie marches out of the house with her own bag and two cloaks. She tosses one to Abbey and drapes her own over her shoulders. 

“Why take one healer, when you can have three?” 

~

Elijah likes those chances. Three skilled witches to help his sister. He thinks this as he sits in the front seat of the carriage, pulling the horses along. The family of witches sit in the back of the carriage, whispering. He tries not to eavesdrop but those enchanted vampire senses can be quite pesky. 

“This is the most insane thing-” 

“Oh, hush mom-”

“I told you both not to come, and now look-”

“I wasn’t about to let you go alone, Grams!”

“I can handle myself!”

“Oh sure Miss. “I will help you.” Why would you agree without negotiating first!” 

“Negotiate what!”

“A cow, a chicken, a diamond, I DON’T KNOW!-”

The carriage pulls to a stop. Elijah clears his throat and opens the door of the carriage. 

“Ladies...Welcome to the Mikaelson Manor.” 

~

As the three witches entered the lavish castle, they were astounded at its beauty. Large white pillars, lamented gold pieces, colorful ceiling paintings. Not what you’d expect from a castle that housed vampires. Bonnie was expecting red velvet and black decor. The castle looked like a Grecian museum. 

As Elijah led the way toward the hospital wing, Bonnie and her mother and grandmother clung close to each other as if they would all float away. Bonnie noticed five paintings of more beautiful pale people. She could identify one of them as Elijah, but not the other four. There was a beautiful blonde woman, Elijah, a man with brown short cropped hair, a child with long strawberry blonde hair and the last was a man with short cropped strawberry blonde hair and striking golden eyes. Bonnie’s eyes lingered a little too long and she nearly tripped over her dress.

Once they reached the wing, Elijah stalked over to another tall pale man, Bonnie recognized him as the man from the painting with the beautiful golden eyes. But in the flesh, his eyes were dull and grey-blue and he wore a permanent frown, just like the picture. He stood as Elijah made his way to him. 

“Finally. Are these the healers?” The man said in a gruff voice, pointing to Bonnie and her mother and grandmother. Elijah nodded. 

“Yes. This is-” The man waved a hand dismissively, cutting Elijah’s sentence off. 

“No time for pleasantries,” He stepped around Elijah and rounded about to the small group of women. If this time wasn’t so stressful to him, he’d love to know their names. He’d even indulge in a bit more conversation with them. Compliment them on how beautiful they were. But time, for the first time in a long time, was important to him. 

“She’s in there. Make haste of your...doings and heal my sister.” He ordered, pointing to a small brown door, stepping to the side so the woman could go through the door. And maybe it was the fumes from all of the candles lit around the palace, or the fact that all Bonnie had eaten was beef and leek stew, but Bonnie was annoyed. She was annoyed at Elijah for ordering them to come. She was annoyed at this man ordering her to do him a favor. And so as her mother and grandmother walked toward the brown door silently, Bonnie did not. 

She stood firmly and looked at Klaus. She folded her arms across her chest and cast an angry glance from him to his brother. 

“You could offer a simple ‘please’ or ‘thank you’.” Bonnie delivered, in a loud voice, that echoed through the hall they stood in. Everyone in the room froze at her sudden outburst. Everyone but Klaus, held their breath, because they were all waiting for him to make his next move. 

He could’ve killed her. He could’ve snapped her neck in seconds and forced the other two healers to do his bidding. Anyone who would 

speak to him out of turn, would have to feel his wrath and so he whirled around and stalked over to the smallest yet _loudest_ of the bunch. As he towered over her, he could hear her heartbeat rise and fall with calamity. She was talking back to the original vampire (as in the first ever vampire) and she was calm? He scanned her face, looking for an ounce of fear, an ounce of the terror that gave grown men nightmares and found none. He found nothing but an intense cold glare buried within her fierce green eyes. He could sense the buzz of electricity that licked off of her skin. For a split second she reminded him of himself, the narcissist he is. 

And he decided at that moment that she was his favorite. 

So he gritted his teeth and then narrowed his eyes. As much as he wanted to ruin her, he could feel something inside of him plead to spare her from his cruelty. He opened his mouth to begrudgingly say,

“ ** _Please and thank you._** **"**

He managed to seethe the words through his teeth. For a moment, Elijah thought that his brother had been spelled. Abbey and Sheila gasped softly, finally taking another breath. 

“You are welcome.” Bonnie replied, pulling off her hood and revealing the rest of her face to him. Curly brown hair spilled out of her hood, framing her face. She curtsies to him and then made her way over to her mother and grandmother as they rushed into the wing, closing the door firmly behind them. 

Klaus skin was practicing buzzing from confusion and anger and something else he couldn’t quite place. He turned to Elijah and pointed in the direction of the witches. 

“ _What_ was her _name?_ "  He grated in a mix of anger, curiosity and disbelief. Elijah stepped toward his brother with his hand hidden in his pocket. 

“I believe her name is Bonnie.” Elijah shared, taking note of the intense look furrowed in his brother’s face. 

Klaus let the name sink into his mind to lock in her face and eyes into his memory. He clenched and unclenched his fist as he glanced at the brown door she’d rushed to after challenging him. 

“ _Bonnie_ .” He repeated, knowing it was a name he wanted to stay on his tongue. 


	2. Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Klonnie interaction, and Klaus has a strange request.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay, stuff got hectic and i couldn't edit it the way i wanted. i may touch it up some more. but im posting two chapters today! whoop whoop

There was a beat of silence, of peace for Bonnie. The moment only lasted a second before Abbey and Sheila let her have it. Bonnie listened silently as they told her how awfully it could’ve ended for not only her but for all of them. They scolded her for her naivety, and her eagerness to prove she was just as important as the “cruel”, “unnatural” beings. Bonnie said nothing, lips pulled taut into a thin line as they worked on the antidote for the sickly vampire. Not that there was anything she could say to take away her mother’s or grandmother’s fear that Bonnie speaking up for them had been a grave mistake. Instead, she worked quickly, putting together an antidote that would hopefully begin to pull toxins out of the blonde vampire’s quickly decaying body. 

It didn’t help that paired with her kin’s consistent berating, the woman moaned and groaned in awful pain. The poison had already spread through her body quickly and it was now a race against time to keep it from getting to her heart. The women tried antidote after antidote and nothing seemed to take the toxins from her body. The best they could do was slow the spread, while they read different spells to expel the poison from the woman’s body. 

But Bonnie could barely focus after the 50th or so chastisement and so after her mother and grandmother were done taking turns to make her feel bad and the woman’s breathing stabilized due to a mugwort potion, Bonnie plopped down her leather bag and turned and walked toward the exit of the room. 

“Where are you going?” Her mother asked. Bonnie sucked in a breath, trying to keep her annoyance and anger at bay. 

“For some air.” 

~

Bonnie didn’t mean to wander in the grand castle, she only wanted to find the front door so she could breathe in some fresh air. The air in the castle was stale and dusty, and she needed the wind to help carry away her frustrations. Her mother and grandmother were right. She should not have risked their lives as foolishly as she did, but when would enough be enough? The villagers walk all over her Grams, men walk all over her mother, Bonnie was tired of having to help those who would not do the same for her or her family. She did not care for their acceptance, she simply wanted to get respect for her craft. She was different from both the women in her family in that way. 

As Bonnie walked aimlessly she was engulfed in these thoughts, and before she knew it, she was lost in the haze of doors and walls of the castle. She drifted down the long corridor of large windows, hoping at the end there would be a sign of which direction the hospital wing was. She silently cursed herself for getting lost, knowing she had a horrible sense of direction. 

“Lost, little one?” came a voice bellowing from behind her. Bonnie whirled around to be presented with the original vampire whom she had challenged, mere hours ago. Bonnie’s jaw muscle locked at the sight of him, looking so smug at her. Klaus sauntered toward her, his arms behind his back and his gaze set on her. Bonnie, realizing she hadn’t answered his question, shook her head and then casted her glance down to her feet with the newfound caution and fear her mother and grandmother had instilled in her. 

Klaus smiled a sly smile at her. Look at the little witch, being coy now. He liked her much better when she talked, when she challenged him. Without it, he cared very little for her. Klaus walked in stride toward her, inching to be closer. 

“What? Nothing to say now, Miss... _ Bonnie _ ?” Her name left his tongue and he wanted it back. 

Bonnie tried to hide the shudder at her name on his tongue. He talked so slowly, she’d think his drawl came from another place as it was calculating and… husky. Bonnie thought back to what her mother told her, about how she needed to be fearful of the undead. But for some reason, Bonnie could not find it in her heart to race. She wasn’t afraid and he could sense that. So he was simply toying with her and it made her angry all over again.

Bonnie lifted her head to meet his gaze. Green eyes bore into dull grey ones. 

“No.” She bit, her lips in a tight line. Klaus laughed once but it was menacingly as if the sound came deep from his belly. He nodded. Her kin must’ve talked some sense into her. But that sense was not there because he could sense the sharpness of her words to him, still as if the small witch had no fear. And once again, she reminded him of himself and it amused him.

“Are you lost?” He questioned, stopping a few feet away from her. Bonnie hated being wrong but she hated admitting it even more. She shifted awkwardly but did not drop his gaze. 

“No. Just getting some air.” She replied, in a soft mumbling tone. Klaus’ face stretched into a knowing smile and he began to close the space between them. 

“Well, then. You are as terrible of a liar as you are beautiful. You would do better to not lie to me again.” He reasoned with an assertive voice. Bonnie would have snorted if she had not promised to be on her best behavior, and that would’ve given away her lie. Everyone Bonnie knew knew that she was a terrible liar. So she sighed, defeated. 

“Okay, then. I seem to have lost my way while thinking of ways to cure your sister.” She said, straightening her stance. Klaus stood close enough to smell her scent. A flowery, sweet smell mixed with sweat. He linked his arms behind his back. 

“Now that I believe. Follow me and I’ll show you back to the hospital wing.” He turned on his heel and walked in the direction she was walking, originally. Bonnie followed him, but barely could keep up with his long strides. As they walked, Bonnie did her best to keep up while also taking in as much information from the castle as she could. They walked past a hall leading to a large red door that was slightly ajar. Through the door’s crack, Bonnie could see a large fireplace, a wooden desk and the dangling feet of a suspended person, a pool of blood at their feet. Bonnie gasped and Klaus blocked her view and ushered her along. 

“W-What was that?” She managed to squeak in a small voice. Klaus’s features darkened. 

“I take threats among me and my family, very seriously. As you saw.” He replied, stoic. Bonnie’s stomach twisted into a knot. She felt as if she might throw-up her breakfast right there. What was to happen to her and her family if they could not cure his sister? Bonnie would not let what happened to the delivery boy happen to her or her family. 

“Was that the person who poisoned your sister?” She asked

“Yes.” He replied

“How did he do it?” 

“Does that matter?” 

“Yes. For medical reasons. Was it ingested… or…?”

“It was laced in a letter she opened.”

Bonnie pauses and steals a look at him from the corner of her eyes. “And who was the letter addressed to?” She asks, dangerously. Klaus cocks his head slightly. 

“You ask a lot of questions for a simple witch. I think investigative work is out of your league so enough of the interrogation, yes?” He replies, not bothering to hide his simmering annoyance. Bit Bonnie is not done gathering information. She treads on carefully, but confident to find an answer to the strange situation. 

“Was the letter addressed to… you?”

“What are you implying,  _ witch _ ?” Klaus spits.

Bonnie stops in the middle of the corridor and looks to him, as she comes to the realization of his annoyance. “The poison was meant for you. Not your sister.” She says more to herself than to him. Klaus can feel his veins slither under his skin. She was stepping more than a toe out of line. He turns to her, and steps forward enclosing the space between them once more. He has grown tired of her questions, tired of her accusations, and tired of her curiosity. 

“Again, you are out of your field,  _ witch _ . Your field is healing, yes? Which is what I have summoned you here for. But you are not there healing my sister. No, I found you here, lollygagging in my home-” 

“I wasn’t lollygagging-”

“Whatever you were doing, it was not conducive to helping my sister. So I suggest you start working and start working fast, little witch.” He breathes, he feels his annoyance slip to anger. But who is he really angry at? At the clever witch who has put together the pieces of a tragedy not even Elijah has managed to sniff out? Or at the fact that his enemies has gotten bolder and his own crimes could be the death of his sister? He couldn’t have another family member’s blood on his hands. It would be too much pain for one person. 

“Or what? You’ll kill us?” Bonnie says, defiantly, not bothering to hide her own disgust. 

“Oh, you’ll wish for death, much like the delivery boy you just met.” Klaus spits. 

“I won’t be threatened into doing you a favor.” Her chest has slightly puffed, if Klaus wasn’t simmering with angry he may have thought it was hot to see her bold and strong in this way. But he had no more space at the time for her defiance. An evil smirk spread across his face. 

“Then maybe you’ll respond to a promise, hm? I promise to  _ not _ kill you if you heal my sister. Better?”

“And if I cannot heal her?” 

“Let’s not focus on the negative. Shall we?” He stalked down the remaining length of the corridor and gestured toward the door that led to the medical wing. 

“Do you feel any remorse?” Bonnie said as she followed him. Klaus furrows his brow. 

“For?” He asked. Bonnie had finally caught up to him and was now standing in front of him once again. She looked up at him with shame. 

“For your sister’s condition? At the cost of your own crimes? You are a monster.” Bonnie spits, with a sneer. 

Klaus glowered darkly and folded his arms. He leaned down so that they can be face to face. “If I could take the poison for myself instead of her I would, but I alas cannot. Does that make you feel better?” He whispered. Bonnie couldn't help the disdain she felt at the undead creature. But an idea popped into her head at his words. She steps closer for the first time, making sure he can hear her.

“Yes, it does, actually. Because I think I know how to heal her. And if it was you instead of your sister, I would do the world a favor and let you die-” Bonnie whips toward the door, her cloak sailing behind her. Klaus grabs her wrist as the black veins have glamored his face. The look sends chills down her spine. 

“Tread lightly, witch. As I said I do not take threats lightly.” He huffs, in a low voice. Bonnie swallows thickly, knowing that men have died for less under the arm of Klaus Mikaelson. But she summons her last bit of courage and says, 

“It was not a threat. It was a promise.” 

~

“Bonnie! Where have you been?” Her mother berates her as Bonnie enters the small room again. The blonde vampire coughs beside them, and Gran presses a damp cloth to her forehead. The woman looks like she did before Bonnie left, if not a little worse which means they probably did not have long to save her. Luckily, Bonnie’s encounter with Klaus has given her another idea. The only idea they hadn’t thought of yet. Bonnie turns to her mother. 

“I know how to save her.” 

Abbey quirks a brow and leans forward. “How?” 

“We have to take the poison from her.” Bonnie says. “And how do you suppose we do that?” 

“We can pull the toxins from her body. Like if you are bitten by a snake.”

Abbey furrows her brow and looks from her daughter to her mother, who has paused from cooling the blonde vampire’s face. 

“How?” 

A slow grin spreads across Bonnie’s face. She flexes her fingers. 

“Magic, of course.” 

~

After grueling hours of expelling the poison from the vampire’s body, the small coven finishes their task. Without the cleverness of Bonnie, who knows what would have happened to the vampire and ultimately them. Gran manages to pool some of the poison into a vial for her own personal collection. Because one may never know when they may need to kill an original vampire. 

“Ladies, thank you for healing our dear sister. There is nothing we can do that will ever repay the tremendous good you’ve done to us. But if there is anything we can do please do not hesitate to ask of us-” Elijah is cut off by an impatient Abbey. 

“We would like 10 chickens, 3 cows, and a horse. And a diamond.” Abbey did not hesitate to make her demands. Elijah gave a slight smirk at the lady’s demands. Sheila cleared her throat and made a face for her daughter to stay quiet. Abbey rolled her eyes and moved behind her mother, though Elijah’s eyes watched her only. Bonnie stood quietly behind, fighting to not make eye contact with the brooding original vampire, who’s eyes never left her presence. 

As Elijah was working out the details of their arrangement, Klaus’ couldn’t help but stare at the green-eyed witch as she cowered in the back of her kin. Klaus interrupted Elijah’s bidding with a slight cough. 

“Excuse me, dear ladies. I believe I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Niklaus Mikaelson, I am the owner of this property.” He gestured toward the grand castle surrounding them. He flashed an award-winning smile. 

“I want to give thanks for healing my sister. Whatever you want, you shall have. But I’m afraid there is one more thing I must ask of you.” 

“Okay, but it’ll cost you another cow.” Abbey muttered under her breath, Sheila nudged her daughter with her elbow.

“What else would you like from us?” She asked, timidly. Klaus gave a small sly smirk. 

“Your dearest,  _ Bonnie _ .” 


	3. A Day's Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie contemplates her day away from Klaus. And returns to answer his request. Things go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two chapters in one day! whoop whoop  
> i kno my writing isn't the best i am a little rusty, but hope u like it. :)

“I do not care who or what you are! You will not take my daughter!” came the shrill voice of Abbey as she screamed at Klaus Mikaelson and his brother. Sheila had managed to hold Abbey back from stepping too out of bounds toward the vampires but she was losing the fight to keep her own feelings at bay. 

“I’m in need of a healer. One close enough to aid in common spellwork and... fixings. I am invincible of course, but I require a great deal of spellwork for other… activities.” Klaus convinced, in spite of Abbey’s yellings. 

“But… why Bonnie? She is the most inexperienced of us. I carry over 50 years of work with me. I offer myself to you, in her place.” Sheila negotiates. Klaus rumbles a laugh. 

“You take me as a simple fool, Sheila? You and I both know the power she possesses undermines all of your  _ experience _ .” Klaus interrupts, with a roll of his eyes. Though just as beautiful, he did not crave Sheila’s presence. Bonnie was the one he wanted. 

“I can offer to protect you and your family from harm in exchange.” He promised. 

“We need no protection, we have been getting along quite alright without your interference.” Abbey scoffed in the vampire’s direction. 

“Yes, and that is why you live in isolation away from the villagers. Waiting in fear for the day their lanterns turn to torches?” Klaus sneered. 

“That day will not come.” Sheila interrupts. Klaus shrugs. 

“It won’t, of course. Under my protection.” He slaps. 

Bonnie simply stood frozen in her spot, while everything moved around her. What should she do? What  _ would  _ she do? She could refuse. And send the original vampires after her and her family in a frenzy. What would they do? Kill her mother? Kill Grams? Kill her? 

She could say... yes? And have her mother burn down the palace? Bonnie was smart but she was afraid she would not be smart enough to mediate  _ that _ conversation. Say yes, and live as a personal healer to one of the most terrifying men alive? or undead? In a life that fills no purpose but to serve the Mikaelsons? Did she even have a choice? 

That didn’t sound like something Bonnie wanted either. She needed a second, no a minute, no hours to think. She needed to process the request. She needed time. She needed a breath. 

She needed to speak for herself.

“Do I have a choice in the matter?” Bonnie says, quietly from behind her mother and Grams. Bonnie finds her legs are working again and steps forward from behind her family to look directly at Elijah and Klaus as they watch her carefully. 

“Is this a request or a  _ demand _ ?” She spat, her jaw muscles tensed. 

Request? Niklaus Mikaelson does not  _ request _ . He had opened his mouth to say this when Elijah stepped forward.

“Of course, the choice lives solely with you, my lady. Whatever is your answer we shall accept.” said Elijah, making a note to look over to his brother who was silently fuming. Elijah saw the smoke coming from Niklaus’s ears as he gave a brief nod and a brittle smile. 

Bonnie relaxed and let out a breath. She nodded. 

“Give me three days, then.” She said. “I need three days to think.” 

“And then I will give you my answer.” She voiced in a solemn tone. 

Three days. Three days for her to be away from him was not something he could take. Niklaus stepped forward. 

“One day.” He bellowed, tired of the pleasantries. He leaned forward. “And you’d be wise to not challenge me while I’m being generous, little witch.” He commanded as Bonnie had opened her mouth to dispute him.

Bonnie closed her mouth in a thin hard line and nodded. “Fine.”

“One day.”

One day that would stretch years for Niklaus. 

~

It is a long, silent carriage ride home. 

As soon as the carriage was out earshot, Abbey and Sheila began furiously packing things into bags. 

“If we leave now, we’d be able to make it to at least to Hera by first light-”

“We can stay with Lenny on the way to Valgard. You know the goat farmer I f-”

“Oh, Abbey, don’t be crude-”

“I was going to say  _ friended _ -”

Bonnie watched them fly over the house, preparing things. Bonnie held her hands up and shook her head.

“Stop, stop! What are you doing?” She asked them. Abbey furrowed her brow at her daughter. 

“Packing to leave? We have to get out of here before they come back.” She warned. Bonnie shook her head.

“Why?”

Sheila stepped forward. “Bonnie, dear. You don’t know the undead. They are relentless and unforgiving. They won’t take lightly to you refusing their proposal.” 

Bonnie stood her ground and looked at her grandmother. “Refuse? I have not made my decision yet.” 

Abbey and Sheila stopped their fumbling. Abbey walked toward her daughter. 

“You cannot be considering that you will go off to live in the home of a vicious, murdering undead lunatic? You cannot be. Not a daughter of mine.” Abbey implored. Bonnie rolled her eyes. 

“There is no harm in considering his offer of protection!-”

“There  _ is _ harm in accepting his offer of slavery!” 

“Both of you, stop it!” Sheila yelled. And Sheila never yelled. She turned to her granddaughter, new worry lines appeared on her face from the stress of the situation. 

“Bonnie, we’ve never needed anyone to protect us, have we?” Sheila continued, locking eyes with the young witch. Bonnie shook her head.

“No, but-”

“And have we not lived here peacefully for all of our years?” 

“Yes, but-”

“Then look into yourself and really think about why our ancestors would want something like this for you, when we’ve no threats here?” Sheila confirmed. But Bonnie was not convinced so easily. 

“Grams, wouldn’t you rather live a life where you would not have to cater to the needs of people who despise you?” Bonnie mused. “Everyday, they spit at us and condemn us but come to us in secret when they need our help. It’s degrading!”

“That is just the way it is. They simply fear what they do not know.” Sheila explained. Bonnie shrugged her slim shoulders, in defiance.

“Perhaps you do not know the Mikaelsons.” said Bonnie. A flash of anger passed over Sheila’s face and this immediately created a pang of guilt in Bonnie’s belly. Bonnie had never seen her Grams angry at anyone but her mother. But Sheila’s expression at this moment was unreadable. Bonnie wished she could eat the words that made her Grandmother look at her so distantly. 

Sheila swallowed thickly and squared her shoulders at her granddaughter. She glared at Bonnie but seemed to be looking right through her. 

“I know more about the Mikaelsons than you think.” Sheila said, turning away as if keeping a secret. 

“And that is why I fear them.” 

~

Klaus watched the witches leave and felt a tug somewhere deep within him that was similar to a knot in his stomach. He clenched his fists and turned to look at his brother, who had a soft stricken looks in his eyes that caused him to roll his eyes. Oh, what a pretty face would do to his brother. 

“You would do best to not speak for me again, brother.” Klaus said gruffly to Elijah as the ladies left the castle. Elijah noted his brother’s clenched fists. 

“You would do best to not demand things from three very powerful witches.” He responded, carefully. Klaus rolled his eyes. 

“Oh, please. The only one with any real power was the small one. If you weren’t so busy charming the mother, you would have seen that.” Klaus slaps, sauntering past his brother. Elijah stiffens at his brother’s accusation. 

“I was simply honoring our end of the deal-”

“You were honoring the idea of seeing her naked. I can practically smell the lust over you.” Klaus spits, as he began stomping down the hall toward his study. 

Elijah lips pulled into a tight line. There was always time and place to fight back against Niklaus. Now was not that time. “What will you do if she refuses your offer?” Elijah calls after him.

Klaus stops for a moment at the question. What would he do if she refuses him? Probably what he does best--rage. But the same something from earlier tugs at him to spare his rage and replace it with something he isn’t familiar with. Klaus begins walking again, unable to answer his brother’s question but sure of one thing. 

His witch would agree if she knew what was best for her. 

~

Bonnie lay awake that night, tossing and turning trying to make sense of her thoughts. She would never want to leave her mother and grandmother. But she fears that she will not be able to protect them forever, and Bonnie would not be able to bear a life without them in it. 

Bonnie sat up and quietly slipped out of her bed, careful not to alert her mother and grandmother sleeping soundly beside her. Whenever Bonnie couldn’t sleep, she found solace in the moon. She would sit at the edge of the small pond and, and watch clouds pass over the moon in awe. The reflection of the moon off the water mesmerized her, and with each ripple dipping her toe in the pond made, she felt like the reflection. Unsure and faltering. 

Bonnie prayed to her ancestors for the right choice to be bestowed upon her, but they were not one for being frank. She heard her grandmother’s words in her head. She heard her mother’s words in her head. And then she heard  _ his _ words in her head. 

_ No daughter of mine _

_ Fear what you do not know _

_ Lanterns turning to torches.  _

She found herself walking toward the pond of their backyard and gazing at her reflection, illuminated by the moon. She closed her eyes and prayed for a sign, prayed for some sort of guidance. When she opened her eyes, the water below her was no longer her reflection. It was a bright orange flickering light, like a raging fire being displayed on top of the water. Bonnie furrowed her brow and peered into the water, hoping for some other indication of a sign. She lowered her fingers into the cool water, expecting for the scene to ripple away but instead was met with heat. She snatched her hand from the water and held it close to her chest. When she checked back to the water, the scene was gone. And the only thing reflected into the water was her face, the moon, and the roof of her home behind her. Bonnie turned to look at her home and felt a sinking feeling in her chest, that she understood what she had to do. 

The next day, Bonnie rode her own horse to the tower of the Mikaelsons before her mother and grandmother woke. It had been ages since she’d rode on her own horse as she galloped to the castle, past the village. Bonnie wished to do her deed before anyone was awakened, that way what was done could simply be done and no one could talk her out of anything. 

Bonnie tied her horse to the gate and before she could knock, the gates flung open and Bonnie walked toward the grand entrance. 

Rebekah opened the door to her, with a surprised expression. 

“It’s you.” Rebekah breathed. Bonnie was stunned to see the blonde vampire walking around as if she had not been so close to the brink of non-existence a mere day ago. Bonnie gave a polite but pointed smile and nodded.

“It is me.” Bonnie said, slightly amused. Rebekah looked the small green-eyed witch up and down and decided that she could see why Niklaus was so enamored with her. She was gorgeous and dainty, just like his type. She could sense the power buzzing off her skin and noted that  _ that  _ aspect was probably what drew him more to her. Like a moth to a flame. Rebekah noticed the lack of bags underneath the girl’s arms and figured her answer would be to deny her brother, which would no doubt send him into a frenzy. Another frenzy that Rebekah did not have time to witness.

“Well, I hope you didn’t ride all the way here just to hear me say thank-you, I’m sure my brothers did it enough. Are you here for payment?” Rebekah delivered, turning on her heel and sauntering into the house away from the door. Bonnie sputtered and walked inside the house timidly. 

“I..uh...no I’m-”

“Spit it out, witch, I haven’t got all day. What’d they promise you? Chickens? Cows?” Rebekah said, annoyed. 

“I’m here to see Niklaus.” Bonnie said, pointedly, finding her voice again. Rebekah raised her eyebrows and nodded. 

“What, am I not enough?” Rebekah mused. Bonnie shook her head. “No, I just need to tell him that-”

“That you won’t stay here to be his personal lackey. I understand, I truly do. And I can deliver the message for you.” 

“I-I just think I should be the one to tell him.” 

Rebekah laughed. “And how do you think he will take that? You’ve heard the stories of him, yes? What do you think he will do to you, do to your family once you’ve denied his offer?” She implored. Rebekah leaned forward, Bonnie stood her ground. 

“He won’t hurt me.” Rebekah laughed. 

“Please, he will kill you all. Now. I advise you get on your horse, pack up your belongings and go as far-”

“Bonnie.” came a bellowing voice from behind Rebekah. Rebekah closed her eyes and shook her head. Bonnie stiffened. 

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

~

“Bonnie. You’re here early. I was going to send a carriage to your home to retrieve you and your things, or did you bring them yourself?” Niklaus mused. A strange feeling lurked in the air and he could smell it. Bonnie squared her shoulders. 

“No. I did not.”

“Ah, couldn’t wait? No worries, I’ll have someone to get your things later. Would you like a tour of your new home?” He reached and grabbed her hand, though that feeling in the air was beginning to make sense to him. 

“No, Niklaus-” Hearing her say his name made his stomach lurch, even as she pulled her hand out of his. 

“I came to tell you that I have to decline your generous offer.”

_ Decline? _

Klaus' eyes darted, and the feeling in the air quickly filled him, but he said nothing. 

“My family really isn’t comfortable with me living here, away from them. We are all we have in this world, and it would be hard to be apart from them.” Bonnie mused.

“You came all this way... to  _ reject _ me _? _ ” 

Bonnie swallowed and nodded. “And to thank you for the kindness of the offer in the first place.” 

Klaus seemed to look through her. It had been so long since he’d been denied something in his undead life. He didn’t ask, he simply took. But he knew he would not want her here if she was not to be here on her own accord. But then again. She could get used to it. She could grow to be thankful he saved her from a life of the bare minimum and showed her the life of true power and delicacies. Her and her family. But this was not what he wanted to spend his time doing--forcing her to spend her time here. 

But unfortunately for her, he had nothing but time to wait for her. 

“Very well. It seems you are even more foolish than I’d suspected.” 

“I am no fool. Just as I am no _slave_. To you, or anyone else!” Bonnie stomped. Niklaus scoffed. 

“You would not be enslaved here.” 

“Then what would I be?”

“You would be important! Respected. Honored, even. With a reputation that would keep you and your lineage safe for centuries. And emboldened for the world to see.” He implored, his gaze falling on her. Bonnie looked at the vampire with a glare that could kill if he weren’t undead. But what she found underneath the intense greyish blue eyes that only seemed to be locked on her with a crazed hungry look, was a softness, an almost pleading. He leaned toward her, hoping to catch her scent again, to find that it was the same flowery sickly sweet smell that tickled his nose the first time. He breathed it in then stepped away.

“At my side, you could be something. You could be someone other than a lowly witch forced to hide the power that remains dormant under your skin.” He finishes. It was all Bonnie wanted. And he could give it to her. So simply. Even if Bonnie wanted to say yes, what of her family? What would they think? And what of her ancestors? What would they think of her? These were things Bonnie didn’t have a chance to think of and she wouldn’t have to. 

“I’m sorry. I cannot.” She mused, casting her glance down. 

Klaus can feel his anger bubbling to the surface. He could kill her. He could rip her beating heart from her chest and watch it beat in his hands. He could bite her, sink his teeth into her neck and drain her until she was nothing left but a memory he would forget. He could not take no for an answer. Lock her away in his tower until she learned to like living with him. He was not one to take no for an answer. And here she stood, no fear in her body, denying him the only thing he’d dared to ask for. 

“Are you going to kill me?” Bonnie dared to ask, in a soft voice unlike her own. He steps closer to her, black veins slithering under his skin. 

“I normally would, love,” He breathes in her fragrance and his eyes return normal, instantly. He sneers at her decadent scent and soft features. “But I’ll leave the villagers to do it for me.” He says, wickedly. He turns on his heel and stalks away from her.

“ _ Get out _ .” 

With this, Bonnie turned on her heel and lifted her dress to slip out of the door, just as quickly as she’d come in. Klaus stalked away with his fists balled to his side as his witch escaped once again. 

~

As Bonnie galloped home, she thought she should ride into town to get a few items and to take her mind off the strange encounter. As she tied up her horse and began to walk through the stalls, looking for a cured meat that would take her mind off of the Mikaelson family, she did not notice the glares and looks of the villagers as she passed by. It wasn’t until Bonnie had tried to pick a certain meat that she heard the whispers fluttering in the air. 

_ “Witches working with the Mikaelsons now. Matter of time before they come to kill us all, Lord bless us.”  _

_ “She fixin’ to plan something with those beasts.”  _

_ “Heard she’s the Mikaelson’s whore now.”  _

Bonnie stiffened and whirled around, her lavender cape whipping with the sudden movement. She gritted her teeth and looked around for an individual to smite with her fiery glare. There were a few gasps, and people hurried their stride as she looked around. After finding that no one was willing to speak up, she slowly turned back to the vendor at the stall. He was a rough looking man with a sneer on his face. 

Bonnie pointed to a grand fish. 

“That one, please.” She said, quietly. The man hesitantly began wrapping the fish in parchment paper, not taking his eyes off of the green-eyed girl. 

“20.” He said, gruffly. Bonnie furrowed her brow. “But It’s usually 5-”

“It’s 20. For your kind.” He demanded. Bonnie’s mouth opened slightly. 

He tossed the fish to her, which Bonnie caught with a cough to her chest, then held his hand out for her coins. Bonnie gritted her teeth and slammed her coins onto the counter beside his outstretched hand. She placed the fish into her bag and stalked toward her horse where she rode home with tears in her eyes. 

~

“Oh, Bonnie. Dear Bonnie. We’d thought you’d-”

“Gone into town to get a fish for supper? You thought right.” suggested Bonnie as she set the fish down onto the table. Sheila let her shoulders relax and Abbey breathed a sigh of relief. 

“I thought you’d gone to the Mikaelson’s alone.” Abbey stressed, sitting at the table and downing the rest of her tea in one gulp. Bonnie poured her mother another cup of tea dn then her own. 

“I did.” Bonnie murmured. Abbey froze. “You what?”

“I went to the Mikaelson’s to give them my answer.” 

“You  _ what? _ ” Abbey repeated. “Should we get your ears checked then?” Bonnie retorted. Abbey’s eyes bugged out of her head. 

“My own daughter. Not my own daughter who’s a lunatic-”

“Abigail, calm yourself. Bonnie dear, what happened?” Shelia asked, turning toward her granddaughter. 

“I…” Bonnie trailed off. “I told him I wouldn’t do it.” 

“And what did he do?” Shelia engaged, leaning closer. 

“He… nothing. He did nothing.” the fleeting look of his despair entered her vision once again as Bonnie relayed the story to them. 

“Great, so he is planning to kill us all?” Abbey said, throwing her arms into the air with despair. 

“No! He said he would not harm us.” Bonnie smoothed over, casting an annoyed glance at her mother. Sheila furrowed her brow and shook her head slightly. 

“He said that?” She asked, quietly. 

“Yes.” Bonnie nodded. 

“He is undead! Not to be trusted!” Abbey yelled, at her mother and daughter.

Bonnie stood and waltzed over to her mother. "Well you can trust me that he will not harm us! He..." Bonnie trailed off, remembering the soft look that washed over his features as he looked down at her as she declined him. Shelia rested a hand on her granddaughter to feel the aura of the situation, anything she that may have rubbed off from the conversation, and found only... a slight yearning. She did not know if it came from her granddaughter or from the Original vampire, but the thought scared her even then. 

"She's... she's telling the truth." Shelia said, lowly. Abbey looked from her mother to her daughter, and scrubbed a hand down her face before going to monitor the boiling tea kettle. An intrusive thought entered Abbey's head, and she couldn't help but revealing it. It hung in the air like a strong scent after she said it. A scent Bonnie would think about well into the nighttime. 

“If I didn’t know any better I would say Klaus Mikaelson was a little sweet on you.” 

~

And so Bonnie and her family, carried on as they did. Bonnie had never noticed that she could see the tops of the Mikaelson's palace before, but now it was what she did on whenever she was outside. She wasn't sure what drew her attention to the tower, but she couldn't help but take a gander. Shelia felt a disturbance in the air, she woke and went to sleep with a feeling she couldn't quite shake. Abbey watched the woods, waiting for horses to gallop like they'd done before and come to shake up their life once again. But nothing happened. And so peacefully and without interruption their lives went on. Until it did not.

Bonnie saw and smelled the smoke before anything. A feeling of dread sank deep into the pit of her stomach, and she nearly tripped over her dress as she stumbled into their home. 

"They've come for us." Was all she uttered before Shelia and her mother burst into action. Shelia casted a protection spell around the perimeter of the house, but she knew it would only hold for so long. Abbey worked on compiling their most important books and potions into a large, leather tote. And Bonnie busied herself with arming herself with anything she could find. But there was nothing more powerful than the magic, itching underneath her skin. As Bonnie prepared to leave and defend the house, Sheila stopped her granddaughter. 

"No! You must go." She ordered. Bonnie looked at Grams as if she had two heads. she shook her head furiously. "Go? I can't go, I have to help!" Bonnie insisted. Sheila shook her head. 

"No. You know how this will end. You must go and get help, we will hold them off for as long as we can." 

"Get help? Help from who! There's no one that can-" Bonnie stammered, before understanding what her grandmother meant. Bonnie could feel tears prick the back of her eyes. 

"No, grams. He won't help us. He won't. And I can't leave you! I won't." Bonnie pleaded. Sheila shook her head and rested her warm palm on her granddaughter's face. 

"You don't have a choice, my dear." 

And as the cries of the villagers grew, Bonnie knew what she had to do. She exchanged a teary glance between her mother and Grams, as they realized too what she must do. Grams murmured a prayer, sadly, unsure of what else they could do in the situation. 

Bonnie hoped that the original vampire would still accept her as she saddled atop of their last horse and rode toward the direction of the Mikaelson manor. She tried to block the sounds of the angry villagers coming to kill her family, with no avail. 

Bonnie rode faster than she ever had in her life, her heart shook with each gallop. She hoped she would reach the manor in time to save her family. She had to. She felt the spirit of her ancestors with her as the entrance of the manor came into view. Bonnie hopped off the horse, her heart nearly beating out of her chest. She banged onto the stone doors, hoping someone would hear her. The doors opened slowly and Bonnie tumbled inside, out of breath and sweat soaking the front of her dress. Elijah caught her in his arms with concern and called out to her. Her world was spinning and she could feel herself slipping away. She tried to catch her breath and answer him but the world was too blurry. 

Niklaus smelled her as soon as she entered their home. In an instance, he was there stalking toward them. 

“What is the meaning of this?” He bellowed, shocked to see the fierce witch in such a state. 

She could make out the blonde hair and grey eyes that came into her vision. She reached her hand out to him, just to touch him. As if touching him would make her safe. He furrowed his brow and immediately caught her arm as she fell into him. 

“I-I… couldn’t save them.” She managed, choking on her own tears.. She looked up into his face for a moment of clarity and found the sharpest, most blindingly gold eyes staring back at her. The eyes from the painting. 

“Help my family,” Bonnie breathed to him, as she felt exhaustion take over her body. 

“And I’m yours.” She promised before collapsing in his arms. 


End file.
